1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector for use in a flexible printed circuit that is mounted on a substrate and so on to connect thereto a flexible printed circuit or a flexible flat cable, hereinafter these are together referred to as a flexible printed circuit, FPC.
2. Description of the Related Art
So far, a connector of this kind is disclosed in JP-A-2000-48885, hereinafter referred to as a related art 1. The connector disclosed in the related art 1 in which an insertion direction of a flexible printed circuit (hereinafter referred to as an FPC including a flexible flat cable) is regarded as an anteroposterior direction includes a housing whose upper portion is opened; a plurality of contacts attached from a backside of the housing; and a lever that is supported freely openable from above and presses the FPC against the housing at a predetermined swinging position and to fix thereto. The contact extends from backward of the housing to forward, and includes a contact segment at a tip end thereof a contact point portion that is brought into electrically connection with the FPC is disposed, a lead terminal and an elastic support segment.
The lever includes a projection that presses the FPC against the contacts; a projection that, in a swinging process of the lever, comes into contact with a surface disposed on the housing so as to overrun; and a locking part curved toward a swinging center side of the lever. When the locking part and a tip end of the elastic support segment of the contact are engaged, the lever swings with the tip end of the elastic support segment as a center.
Furthermore, another connector for use in FPC is proposed in JP-A-10-208810 (hereinafter referred to as a related art 2).
A connector according to the related art 2 includes a housing and a contactor, the contactor comprising a prop and thereon a T shape portion made of an upper beam. The upper beam includes a contact beam that has a contact portion on one side with respect to the prop and a rotary beam on the opposite side of the contact beam. Furthermore, means for displacing the rotary beam and thereby displacing a distance with a portion facing the contact beam with a connection portion of the prop and the upper beam as a fulcrum is disposed between the rotary beam and a portion facing the rotary beam.
Still furthermore, also in Japanese Patent No. 3029985 (hereinafter referred to as a related art 3) a connector for FPC is disclosed. In the connector for use in the FPC according to the related art 3, at a slot portion of a housing, a plurality of contactors are disposed. The FPC disposed on contact portions of the contactors is provided with a swing support portion on a side opposite to the contact portions. A cap-like pressurization member is supported freely swinging by the swing support portion between a predetermined position in proximity to the contactors and an open position separated from the predetermined position. The pressurization member includes a pressurization portion that compresses the FPC disposed on the contact portions against the contact portions, when the pressurization member is swung up to the predetermined position. At a slot portion of the housing, the housing is provided with a holding metal part having a restraint wing and a fixing portion on both end portions of at least the slot portion in an arrangement direction of the contactors. The restraint wing is positioned so as to come close to or come into contact with a top surface of the FPC. The fixing portion is soldered to a corresponding portion of a printed circuit board.
However, in the connector according to the related art 1, a problem exists in that, since a direction in which the lever presses the FPC against the contact portion swings and is the same with that in which the FPC is flapped, when the FPC is flapped, the lever presses a contact point of the FPC against the contact to be opened, and to make a contact failure and so on result.
Furthermore, in the FPC connector according to the related art 2, a problem exists in that since an operation lever for pressing is disposed on a side opposite to the FPC insertion slot and a wall is disposed also on an upper side of the FPC insertion slot, the FPC insertion slot can be discerned with difficulty, resulting in inserting the FPC with difficulty.
Still furthermore, in the FPC connector according to the related art 3, a problem exists in that because of the wings disposed at both ends, when the FPC is laterally inserted from above, the wing portion and the FPC interfere each other to result in difficult insertion.